Mischief Managed
by chucklesmonroe
Summary: George's feelings and reactions after finding that Fred has died.


I couldn't breathe. Every part of my body shut down within seconds. My heart, my lungs, my brain - my whole body was in shock. I could hear everything going on around me but I didn't care, I couldn't care. Every inch of me was numb, it felt like I had been kicked in the stomach, like I had been winded. My whole world had collapsed, nothing else mattered.

Fred's gone. Fred. My Fred. The one person I shared my whole life with .. was dead. Gone in a second. The one bit of light in the darkness had been diminished by evil. Every hope, dream and happy memory I ever had was gone. There he laid, his lifeless body in front of me and there was nothing I could do. No prank, no joke that would ever make this better. I collapsed next to his body and tried desperately to breathe. I clutched onto him and sobbed, praying that we could switch places. I'd never understood when people had said their heart was broken until now. My heart wasn't just broken, it was battered, bruised and beyond repair. My heart was no longer in my chest, it was lying lifeless on a cold floor and there was no way for me to revive it.

I could hear my mother screaming behind me, screaming for her beautiful boy to come back. Hearing her broken voice made me feel selfish. I may have lost a brother, but she lost a son. No mother should have to bury a child. How would she cope without him? How would any of us cope?

"Percy, calm down son!" I heard my father scream. I turned to see Percy trying, and failing, to punch through a wall. My father grabbed hold of him and held him in his arms as Percy collapsed in tears. I looked around the room to see who else was alive. Mum, Dad, Percy, Ginny, Bill, and Fleur. Wait, where was Ron? Harry and Hermione? I finally found my voice again.

"Where's Ron? WHERE'S RON? IF THAT MORON HAS GOT HIMSELF KILLED, I SWEAR TO MERLIN I'LL CRUCIO HIM INTO NEXT YEAR!" I screamed, frantically searching the room for that familiar, ginger head.

"Ron? Where's Ron, Arthur? Please, find him!" My mother pleaded. She grabbed hold of my father, trying to catch her breath and failing, resulting in more sobs.

"Mum, it's okay, I saw him earlier, he had the invisibility cloak, he has to be safe!" Percy said, having finally calmed down. Mum seemed to relax when hearing this but not completely. Percy looked down at me, his eyes a mixture of grief, pain and guilt. He leant down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"George, it's all my fault. I was there when the explosion happened, I should have been protecting him. It should have been me, I'm so sorry." I could hear the guilt in Percy's voice. I knew there was nothing he could have done, nobody could have saved him. I glanced at him with a lump in my throat, trying to find the right words.

"I don't blame you Perc, you bloody sod. Did you see .. Did you see him die?" Percy nodded, his lip quivered and a small tear fell onto his long nose.

"Was .. Was he smiling?" I asked, looking hopeful. Every member of the family looked down at me, probably thinking I was mad. Percy's eyebrows knotted in confusion.

"Wh-what? Smiling?" I'm pretty sure at that moment in time, everybody thought I was loopy.

"Yeah, was he smiling? I know you all think I'm crazy but .. I want to know he was happy. I don't think Fred frowned once in his whole life and trust me, even if he was staring You-Know-Who in the face, he'd probably still find something to laugh about. Especially with that dodgy nose of his."

In the back of my mind somewhere, I heard Fred's voice.

_**Yeah and I bet his breath is deadly too.**_

I looked down at his body, and even though I knew I had heard his voice only in my mind, I was hopeful. I stared down at his face and erupted into laughter. Nobody knew what was going on, they had no clue what I was laughing at. I could hear them all talking behind me.

"Arthur, please, help him, I think he might be having a breakdown." My mother begged. This only spurred my laughter on more and suddenly I was red in the face where I had been laughing so hard. Suddenly, Ginny bent down next to me and touched my cheek. Her eyes were red through crying so much and her face was blotchy.

"George? I know he wasn't my twin but he was my brother too, I know what you're going through. I understand the pain you're feeling and ... It's okay to cry." She spoke with such wisdom that it was hard to believe that it was my little sister talking. The little, annoying girl who Fred and I would spend hours teasing, levitating her by her hair and leaving her hanging on the tree outside. I could see the pain in her eyes. Little Ginevra was no longer a baby. She had grown up so much - it pains me to say it, but she was more grown up than Fred and I put together. I touched her cheek with a smile and ruffled her hair. I didn't even have to speak, she knew I understood. She squeezed my hand, got up and went over to hug mum.

We spent the next half an hour in silence, just staring at his lifeless body, when in rushed Madame Pomfrey and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Behind them were a group of students, helping them with two casualties.

_God, no, please not somebody else_, I thought, pleading with everything I had inside me.

The students gently placed the two, lifeless bodies next to Fred's and that's when I saw who it was. Lupin and Tonks. I heard mum stifle a sob and turned to see her fall into dads shoulders. Dad patted her, silently crying. It was just like dad to focus on everybody else, not focusing on his own pain. He had just lost his son and now his two friends. I looked over at their peaceful bodies and thought instantly of their son. Teddy. Oh, what would Teddy do without them? Would he ever know how heroic his parents were?

I looked back to Fred's body and my own pain came rushing back. We had already lost so many amazing people tonight, how many more would we have to lose before the night was over?

_I miss you already, Freddie_, I exclaimed in my head.

**_Of course you do, I was always the funnier, better looking twin, I was everyone's favourite_**, I heard him retort. I looked down at his face, wishing that it had come from his mouth and not my mind. I felt the tears streaming down my face, knowing that he was never coming back. We had only ever spent an hour apart before and in that hour, I lost my ear. We were barely away from each other a few hours tonight and he lost his life. How on earth would I survive the rest of my life without him? Without my Fred?

Suddenly, I looked up to find Hermione comforting Ginny and frantically searched for Ron. I saw him standing in an embrace with Bill, hugging him tightly. They let go and he turned to look at me. I stood up and grabbed him, squeezing him with an almighty force. He pulled back and looked at me. He looked so exhausted. He gently squeezed my shoulder and looked in my eyes. His eyes said everything. _I know, I'm hurting too_. I held onto his arm and felt myself go numb again. Ron lowered his eyes onto Fred's body and fell to the ground. He leaned over him and let out a cry that shook everybody to the core. I could feel the tears crashing down my face and began to tremble. Hermione kneeled next to him and held onto him as he sobbed, cradling him like a baby. It was nice to know he had someone he loved there, someone he could confide in and have hold him when he cried. The only person I could ever confide in was gone forever.

**_It's about time they got together, bloody hell_**, I heard Fred say. I shook my head, faintly smiling. I looked around the family. Each one was engulfed by their own grief. I looked at my father and found him staring at me. He gave me a smile, one that said '_you'll be fine boy, I promise_'. I smiled back and shook my head. He held my mother and took a deep breath. He let go and one by one, went round the group whispering something in each persons ear. Everyone looked at me and slowly walked away. Hermione pulled Ron up and walked him over to the corner, her arm round his shoulders and one hand holding face. Once everybody had gone, my father kneeled down and put his hand on my shoulder.

"It's time to say goodbye, son. Just you and Fred." He looked me in the eyes and I could see he was trying so hard to hide his pain but he wasn't succeeding. He was doing his best to focus on everybody else, but I could tell that inside, his whole world had fallen apart. He leaned down, gently brushed Fred's hair out of his face and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Goodbye, my boy." I heard him whisper in Fred's ear. He slowly got up and walked away.

I watched him go and felt my heart break all over again. I looked down at my twin.

"Oh, Fred", I sighed. "Why did you bloody leave me, eh? What am I gonna do without my partner in crime?"

**_You'll be fine, Georgie. It might not seem that way right now, but you'll survive. You really think I'd leave if I thought you couldn't handle it? You're stronger than you think._**

"I'm not Fred, I'm not. I need you here, I never known life without you."

**_Don't be so soppy, you silly git, people might be able to hear you. You know I'll always be here. Maybe not physically, but I'll always be in your heart and your mind. You can't get rid of me that easy._**

I smiled. Even after death, he still managed to be a rude, insufferable sod. But he was my rude, insufferable sod. However, he was right and in that moment, I realised: he would never really be gone because he was part of me. He _is_ part of me. Suddenly, I felt hopeful again. I'd never be the same person again, that's for sure, but although my brother could never be here how I wanted, at least I still had him in my heart. It's not enough but it's still a start. He'll live on my stories and my memories. No matter what happened in life, he'll always be my brother and I'll always love him.

**_ Make sure you carry on pranking everyone whilst I'm away. I'll see you soon, Georgie._**

"I promise, I will."

**_Oh, and George?_**

"Yes Freddie?"

**_Mischief managed._**

"Mischief managed."


End file.
